Potty paraphenalia and 3 months old

We have officially entered the potty training realm. Things are going okay. We had a bit of a false start last weekend when Ava's decision to wear "panties" coincided with the breakdown of our washing machine. Go figure. But we've started again. This time with a potty chair that's "just my size!", according to Ava and also a new washer. We've got plenty of candy and potty chart stickers, and made lots of calls to our Grandmas , all for celebration's sake. She's really doing well. Ava's overall motivation is the pretty "panties". "Want panties on!" can be heard for miles if you suggest otherwise. Honestly, though, it is easy to see that she is proud of herself and really getting enjoyment from working to master and control her body.

Ava on the throne

And Mr. Luke, as he's often referred to at our house, is just keeping up his charming antics. He turned 3 months old yesterday. It is a weird feeling. He's still so young but it really feels like he's been with us forever. I guess it just speaks to the eternal nature of families. I remember similar feelings shortly after Dan and I were married. The time is concrete; 3 months, 2 years, etc. but it feels like we've always been together. He (Luke) smiles and coos and melts my heart. When Ava talks to him he gets a gigantic smile on his face and it makes me excited for them to have each other.

Sleeping through his birthday

Then and Now

I was looking through my pictures today and thought it would be kind of fun to see some of them next to each other. There really are alot, so I'm sure I'll do this again soon!

7 months pregnant with Ava:




















6 months pregnant with Luke:




I think I was as big at 6 months with Luke as I was the day I delivered Ava!

Starting grad school 2005:

Graduating 2007:

Ava got bigger and Dan got skinnier!



Ava's Blessing day, 6 days old:





Luke's Blessing day, 3 weeks old:




Ava and Corbin, October 2005:


Ava and Corbin, July 2007:

They started out just friends but a romance soon developed!

Sophie then:


Sophie now:


Some things never change!

From the mouth of Babes...

I just gotta write these down before they slip my mind. Ava is talking so well now, but her pronunciations are kinda funny. I wish I could have her little voice burned into my mind so I will never forget it. It is so cute. I will try to write phonic-ly so when I read this again, it will help me remember how she sounded. At the grocery store, trotting beside me as I pushed the cart, she tells me "Mommy, I mells somepeen". It sounds like mouth and she's pointing to her face. "You mouth something?" "No, mells somepeen". Finally I got it. "you smell something?" "Yes"
I ask her what she smells and she starts listing the things we put in the cart. Watermelon, bread, etc. Then we threw in the Finding Nemo fruit snacks. She was pretty excited and skipped ahead saying, "I mells Nemo nack nacks".
I should have known that "mells" was "smell" right away because she often puts the "s" at the end of a word instead of the beginning. Like "wingsin" for "swinging". And she usually substitutes a "p" where a "c" should go. "Sippy pup" (sippy cup) sounds really cute as does "I peam" (ice cream).

hot mama says "thank you"

I received a package from the FED EX lady today. Luckily, I caught her at the door before she rang the bell and woke our sleeping babies. I signed my name and she handed me a small box. What could this be? Hmmmm?? Inside, to my delight, was a shiny red ipod shuffle (engraved with "hot mama") and a note from you! Thank you! I am very excited to listen to my hot mama music!
And thank you for making the A. and L. of our new blog possible. I hope you like it. I really am computer challenged. Let's have fun with this! I Love you, Dan!